Empty building tax change will cost Scottish Enterprise £700K
SCOTTISH Government plans to raise taxes on empty commercial properties will cost its own enterprise body almost three-quarters of a million pounds a year, it was revealed yesterday.The figures,...
View ArticleOlympics help drive growth at search engine Blinkx
SHARES in online video search engine Blinkx surged by more than a quarter after the Aim-quoted firm revealed it has enjoyed an advertising boost from the United States presidential campaign and the...
View ArticleRoyal Highland Show set for £2.6m ‘weatherproofing’
HAVING lost both visitors and income this year as a result of one of the wettest Highland Shows in the 200 plus years of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, the organisers...
View ArticleHi-fi manufacturer Linn promises research increase to target web content
LINN Products, the Scottish hi-fi manufacturer, will raise its investment in research and development this year as it adapts to a converging marketplace with more audio and visual content delivered via...
View ArticleMortgages show signs of growth
A SPIKE in mortgage approvals has provided tentative evidence that a multi-billion pound scheme designed to unclog the flow of credit to UK homebuyers is starting to have an impact.The £80 billion...
View ArticleMedia boost on consolidation talk
TRINITY Mirror yesterday confirmed it is in talks with local newspaper publishers Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) and Yattendon Group to consolidate the sector.The publisher of the Daily Mirror,...
View ArticleFarming markets: 1,370 lambs sold in Dumfries
THE Cumberland & Dumfriesshire Farmers Mart sold 1,370 store lambs. Breeding sheep (210) sold to £142, feeding lambs (1,160) to £64.STIRLING – United Auctions had forward 83 rams, selling to £450....
View ArticleRoyal Mail invest £75 million in UK parcels business
ROYAL Mail has announced a £75 million investment programme for its UK express parcels business, creating 1,000 jobs.The expansion is part of the group’s strategy to grow its parcels businesses in the...
View ArticleBusiness news in brief: Serco | AstraZeneca | Frontier IP
OUTSOURCING specialist Serco yesterday confirmed that it will take over the running of Edinburgh-based insurer Aegon’s protection unit in a ten-year deal worth £190 million.The deal, which was unveiled...
View ArticleComment: Bankers seem finally to be getting the message
LLOYDS has just indicated it is following Barclays in pulling the plug on incentivising retail staff based on the volumes of products they sell covering everything from current accounts to Payment...
View ArticleMark Reynier to leave Bruichladdich distillery
MARK Reynier, the founder and former chief executive of the Bruichladdich Distillery company which was sold to Remy Cointreau in July for £58 million, has left the company.Reynier, who had led the...
View ArticleIreland won’t need second EU bailout
IRELAND will not need a second bailout, Germany’s finance minister Wolfgang Schauble has said.After meeting his Irish counterpart Michael Noonan and public spending minister Brendan Howlin, Mr Schauble...
View ArticleScottish Business Briefing - Tuesday 30 October, 2012
WELCOME to scotsman.com’s Scottish Business Briefing. Every morning we bring you a comprehensive round-up of all news affecting business in Scotland today. INSURANCEDirect Line bosses head for exit...
View ArticleBranston Pickle bought by Japanese firm
Britain’s biggest food producer has sold its Branston Pickle business for £92.5 million to Japan’s Mizkan Group, as part of its effort to trim debt.Premier Foods’ sale of its pickle and vinegar...
View ArticleBP shares surge as investors cheer rising divi on profit spike
SHARES in BP jumped more than 4 per cent today as the oil giant cheered investors with a substantial rise in its quarterly dividend, despite profits coming under pressure from a drop in production.News...
View ArticleHitachi buys UK nuclear project for £700m as David Cameron hails move
JAPANESE engineering giant Hitachi today agreed to buy EON and RWE’s Horizon nuclear power projects for £700 million, winning plaudits from politicians but angering the environmental lobby.Prime...
View ArticleHBOS corporate bankers ‘showed few concerns’ over credit controls
BANK of Scotland’s corporate bankers shrugged off concerns over credit controls on lending as part of the HBOS group because they had weathered the 1990s recession so well, a former director revealed...
View ArticleMore tenants for BioQuarter site
THE “incubator” centre set up for small businesses at the Edinburgh BioQuarter science park is now 40 per cent full after signing up a further two tenants.Swedish healthcare firm Mölnlycke and stem...
View ArticleRetailers can look forward to Christmas as sales rise
RETAILERS enjoyed a better October than forecast, according to figures released yesterday by the CBI, hinting that the economic recovery may be gathering pace.Analysts said that falling inflation and...
View ArticleMarkets: Sandy fails to blow away insurers
INSURANCE stocks shrugged off a second day of disruption caused by Hurricane Sandy to post gains yesterday after analysts at UBS unveiled a raft of upgrades across the sector.The review came ahead of...
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